Of Little and Big Moments
by Dathtato
Summary: Veronica doesn't want to believe in soulmates because she doesn't want to feel forced to love someone. So after months she makes one last ditch effort to create her own love life, no matter how much she doesn't want to. Because all she really wants is Betty.


**Hello, hope you enjoy. Written based on the AU of the Week Challenge in the Riverdale Fanfiction Challenges forum on this website.**

Soulmates. The whole idea was ludicrously preposterous, inconceivably asinine- just plain thrilling and depressing is she was being honest. Veronica Lodge would believe many things, destiny included but she needed to draw a line somewhere. That line she drew at being told that there was one true love for every person out there in the world, someone you could not help but love with your entirety. It was ridiculous. It was forced. It was possibly reassuring. Sure she believed that the universe had a way of telling you, and in the case of bullheadedness pushing you, to take a certain path, a certain journey, but she refused to believe it gave a crap about who you loved and who loved you back.

Or so she told herself because if she had to admit to believing in the concept of soulmates then she had to admit that she had found hers. And while she believed that destiny was at play, she didn't feel like playing back.

Naturally being born into a world that actually had soulmates meant that she had to learn about it in school. How some of the greatest conflicts in history both started and ceased due to true love. Other than that the rest was learnt like walking or speaking. Imitation. Little mirror neurons in the brain essentially doing the same as 'monkey see, monkey do'. It was a bit more complicated than that but she had gotten bored from how badly written the document explaining it was. The rest of the information was aggregated to every child via their surrounding peers, parents, adults and so forth.

 _Soulmates are always bound to meet._

 _Only the mark bearer and their soulmate can see the glowing ethereal mark on their forehead, and vice versa._

 _Each mark only had one identical counterpart which was on their soulmate._

 _Finally, soulmates always fell in love._

Many had, in her opinion, both mistaken that last factoid and believed unwaveringly in it. Somehow for the others in the world it equated to the soulmates immediately starting to date, or in more severe cases instantly looking to be married. They also believed that it was a cold hard fact, steadfast in its finality and inevitability. Not her though. No, she knew that love was something that was built. Thousands of never ending little moments between two people that formed a mutual bond of appreciation, trust and support that all culminated in what humanity perceived as the emotion love. Simple little moments like a smile in the morning or a goodnight when going to sleep.

And that was her problem. Those little moments that kept creeping up on her whenever Betty was around. Betty at her locker always ready with a smile before school. Late night phone calls where neither of them seem to be able to hang up and they shared whispered goodbyes over the phone until one of their phones die. And then there was cheer squad-

What had she gotten herself in for?

Seeing Betty in a uniform, never mind a cheerleader uniform undoubtedly designed to be flirtatious to the eye, was something that literally stole her breath. Each and every time Betty was in that damned thing she found it exceptionally harder to breath, or think for that matter and Veronica Lodge had never been one to lose her mental faculties.

So she was left in a limbo of sorts. Wanting to resist the path destiny was demanding of her but not wanting to let go of Betty. She wanted to decide who she would fall in love with and not be forced to be in love with the blonde, even if it was hurting her heart to essentially demand her soulmate only be her friend. It hurt because all those little moments kept happening and it made her fight a battle, a war really, of her head against her heart. Each time leaving her more bruised in a way only Betty could ever help with, but for that to happen she would need to submit to destiny.

And that was why she was doing what she was doing now.

"So Archiekins, what time are you picking me up tomorrow night?" She asked as she gracefully slid into the group's usual table, only Kevin and Archie there as of yet. Her soulmate was bound to be along soon.

"Uh-" She gave him a look to warn him to remember their -her- plan faster or suffer the consequences. "Eight." He guessed awkwardly and Kevin sighed, seeing through them both instantly.

"So you guys are going on a date tomorrow tonight?" He for whatever reason played along and pretended for their sakes that this lie was being believed. Maybe because for months now every attempt Veronica had made to force her narrative had been wishy-washy and pathetic.

"Who's going on a date?" Betty asked as she popped out of nowhere and slid a little clumsily into the bench opposite Veronica. Veronica struggled to not smile immediately at the clumsy way that Betty half fell half slid in, only making her that much more endearing to the brunette. Her heart was crying out for her to react, to smile, to ask Betty if she was fine, to hold her soulmate. Her head though, the one she used more often, simply reminded her that she would not play a part in destiny's game this time. She was putting herself in the corner for a time-out.

"Veronica and Archie." Kevin supplied and Betty rolled her eyes with an amused smile. Betty had never been angry that Veronica had essentially friend-zoned her, not even mildly upset, but that stemmed from the fact that she too were like one of the sheep that believed no matter what, soulmates always ended up together. Emphasis on the like. Betty's mind set was similar in regards to the concept of soulmates but Veronica would never insult Betty by insinuating she was another sheep.

"How long has this been in the works?" Betty asked openly, clearly beyond amused at this attempt.

"Hours definitely." Kevin said at the same time as Veronica rushed to say, "He's been begging me for weeks, I finally caved."

"Oh really?" Betty chuckled and Veronica's eyes flickered across her face, trying to memorise it all. The way her eyes crinkled, how she smiled brightly, the glowing baby pink mark on her forehead bouncing along as her head shook with the gentle force of her quiet chuckles.

Betty really was not making it easy on her to keep us this charade.

"Yes really." She quipped, forcing annoyance at the blonde.

"And where are you two going to go?" Betty smiled at her, her eyes bright and soft and fiery and calm and passionate as Veronica looked into them. She couldn't talk, she couldn't breathe anymore. It wasn't possible for eyes to show so many emotions.

She tried and failed to subtly gesticulate that Archie should step up and answer while she recompose herself.

"Uh, Pops?" He asked and she was thankful that even if it came out as a question that he had in fact responded.

"What about Pops?" Jughead asked as he slid in, his laptop under his left arm, forcing Archie to squeeze closer to Betty. The beanie he always wore firmly secured over his head and not disturbed by the motion. When she had gotten here she had heard the rumours circling Jughead, that he wore it because he had no mark but she never believed that. If only two people in the entirety of the world could see what boiled down to a magical ghost mark then why bother hide it. No she believed that he had found his soulmate but didn't want them to know for whatever reason.

Veronica's not proud of it but she nearly bared her teeth at the ginger.

He was physically too close to her soulmate.

The soulmate she didn't want to want because destiny told her the opposite, her head reminded her.

The person who in any other circumstance she would have grovelled at for a single date.

"Veronica and Archie are going to go on a date there tomorrow night at eight." Kevin supplied again and a dark look crossed Jughead's face. Murderous in a way before it returned to its normal slightly bored slightly 'I hate everything' appearance.

"Again?" He asked openly and both Kevin and Betty simply nodded. She would pretend she didn't see Archie nod too.

"Juggie, how about we go on a date tomorrow at eight too? Pops?" Betty grinned mischievously at him.

"It would be my pleasure." He returned the evil smile tenfold, always ready to cause trouble for a story.

The jealousy in her flared up again, competing for space only with the knowledge that the only reason they were doing this was to make sure Veronica went through with her plan. The plan she had never intended to go that far with. Now she would have too.

Damn Betty Cooper for making her life so hard by being the perfect person she would fall in love with. If she didn't know any better than she would say that Betty was a sadist but the blonde wouldn't hurt a fly. No Betty was waiting, waiting for her to give up on this foolish endeavour. Betty would be there at her locker again on Monday and be on the other end of the phone call conversation tonight and everywhere in between. Waiting for her soulmate.

"Cheryl's been getting better these days don't you think?" Betty yawned over the phone and her heart stuttered in awe of the blonde's yawn. Oh god- she was a love sick puppy. No. she would not let herself be reduced to this. She was not going to fall any further in- she meant she was not going to fall in love with Betty.

"Yeah. What percentage are you on?" She was begging her or Betty's phone to die already. It was months past too hard and every second she spent with, talking to or thinking of the blonde chipped away at her resolve. Childishly she also hoped their phones became immortal and self-charging so that they would never have to stop talking.

She was suffocating in love and contradictions.

"Seven. You?"

She pried away the phone for a second, which was much too long to suffer through not hearing her soulmate's voice, and squinted through the bright glare in her dark room. "Thirteen."

"Two more minutes." Betty chuckled sleepily from most likely her own dark bedroom. Veronica knew this had always been the blonde's favourite part of their nightly calls. It was when they confessed their desires to each other, light or burdened, when they revealed their secrets, when they said small things to let the other know they were cared for, loved and appreciated. It was sardonically painful to her own soul and was always capped off with their multitudes of whispered partings.

"I like pineapple on pizza." Betty started and Veronica had to smile, free now to do so in the privacy of her room and with her head too distracted to listen to Betty to realise her heart was winning. She was in love. Not a new revelation by any standards but it still hung thick around her.

"When I was seven I wanted a pony." She replied.

"When you were seven you got a pony." Veronica could hear the sleepy smirk over the phone.

"Amusing Miss Cooper but you are wrong." She smiled.

"How old?"

"I was eight the next day." She could picture the smug look on Betty's face. "Your turn."

"I think you're really pretty."

"I know you are drop dead gorgeous."

"You're making me blush."

"I'm really glad that I moved to this town."

"I am too V." Betty said.

"I love you Veronica." A nightly admission, one that Veronica knew the full meaning of and took into her each time.

"I love you too Betty." She replied her nightly admission knowing full well that it held the same amount of weight.

"Night, sleep tight."

"Have pleasant dreams B."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Can't wait." She couldn't, every second that passed from when this conversation ended to the next moment she talked or saw Betty was a second too many.

"Goodnight." Betty whispered.

"Goodnight." She whispered back. It would happen any moment now.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Good-" Betty's phone died and it felt like someone had stabbed Veronica through the heart. She rolled onto her side and clutched a pillow to her chest, trying desperately to imagine it was Betty. Each night though there was something wrong with the pillow. Either it was too soft or too hard, too small or too big. In the end it just wasn't her soulmate so she allowed a tear to roll down her cheek at the agony she was inflicting on herself. But she wouldn't stop. Destiny had no right to dictate her love life. She would continue this ruse for herself until she couldn't anymore.

"Screw you destiny." She whispered into the dark of her room. Destiny would not win this battle. And while she knew that she was callously playing a game with the master like many others before her had, she was certain she would be the first to be triumphant.

Her mistake though because pride always came before the fall and in this case she would fall hard.

It was difficult to focus on her date with Archie when Betty was sitting right in her view a few tables away. Each time Betty laughed her heart would clench, every smile made her ache, every excited reaction would cause her to wish dearly that she was the one that had brought it about. But no, it was Jughead Jones that caused every reaction from the blonde. They had gotten here a little before herself and Archie and had started a great time for themselves. It almost looked like they were on a real date as they seemed so engrossed in their conversation, completely forgetting that they were here in the first place to observe her date with Archie. Within herself she could feel all the emotions run wild. Jealousy. Self-hatred. Irritation. Love.

She hoped the chair Jughead was on finally gave out like everyone in town had been waiting for it to. It was a small town and with Jason's murder behind them all, the chair had become the new centre of attention. As moronic as it sounded some of the younger kids would take dares and bets to sit on it and she was ashamed to admit she found it all fascinating as well. Only now she was mentally sending the chair death threats.

She forced her attention back to Archie whom was chatting away friendlily, not perturbed by being on a forced date with one of his friends who happened to not be his soulmate. She smiled and nodded and talked along with him, sometimes taking the reins of the conversation and shifting topics. It was all too easy to talk to him. Like they had known each other years instead of months. She knew everything about him and he knew everything about her. He was basically a brother to her.

Not like with Betty. Talking to Betty was hard and easy, she was always discovering new things about the blonde and each didn't simply file into a compartment in her mind but embossed itself upon her soul. She felt as though she had known Betty for millennia but also as if each meeting was their first. There were too many contradictions when it came to Betty, too many things within Veronica acting together and against each other. But they all agreed that she should sweep Betty off of her feet now, months ago, and every passing second for the rest of their lives.

And she would have but she was being bull-headed, which is why destiny decided to intervene in that moment. One of the waiters, a fresh young lad with mild acne, walked out the kitchen carrying the order of onion rings Betty and Jughead had ordered to share, along with their milkshakes. When he neared the blonde his foot caught on a chair, left a little more out by a previous patron now long gone, sending him toppling to the floor and the food and drinks up in the air. As the poor boy fell Jughead tried to jump from his chair in a brave but vain attempt to save the flying edibles; but his chair gave out and sent him landing roughly on his one knee as the other leg tried to stop the descent leaving him in the typical proposal position. His hands while this had been happening had been in the air and he managed to snag a single fried onion ring in the confusion. The rest of the edibles flew over the two and landed near the window in a mix of colour and harsh sounds.

Veronica had seen this all happen but her emotions were running rapidly and logic it would seem had taken a short vacation. All she saw in the end was Jughead kneeling with a round ring, not registering its fried-ness or lack of metal, in his hand and Betty staring down at him. It didn't matter to her that Betty seemed to be laughing with Jughead as she tried to find out if he was physically fine, nor did it matter that there was no proposal. She saw what she feared and that was someone taking Betty away from her.

Launching out of her chair she charged her body into Jughead, launching him to the floor as his beanie dislodged into the air, and somehow snatching the onion ring from his hand. She whipped around to Betty who was staring in shock and sank to the floor. Not leaving a second for anything, not emotions and not logic, she launched into a long apology and proposal. Saying everything she had been craving to since the moment she met her soulmate.

The moment she stopped and the silence reigned she became panicked, it was taking too long from her perspective for Betty to say yes. After what felt like decades but was less than two seconds Betty started laughing with her entire body. Shaking so much she slipped off of her chair to the floor but still continued.

Veronica is ashamed to admit it but with her still wonky perspective she started to tear up, thinking that Betty was laughing at her instead of at the situation.

"How about we start with a first date?" Betty asked sober from her giggles the moment she saw the tears roll down Veronica's cheeks, her hand coming up to hold the brunette's face.

They were both on their knees now, bodies pressed together and at a loss for words Veronica did what she had wanted to do for every moment since the cheerleader try-outs. She surged forward and kissed Betty solidly, knocking them back and to the floor of Pops.

"What the he-" Jughead yelled as he got off the floor, angry at her for her sudden violence, but his words were cut short by a loud gasp and a chair clattering backwards.

They all turned to face Archie who was looking at Jughead's forehead and though she couldn't see it, Veronica knew Archie had just discovered his soulmate.

 **Hoped you liked. Any thoughts or opinions? Comments are always loved; really really loved.**

 **Disclaimer: This work is purely fictional, any relations to places or people is purely coincidental. I own nothing relating to the original source material nor do I claim to. All views or opinions expressed within this work may not necessarily reflect that of the author's. This work is not intended to offend anyone.**


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